All Alone in the Night

It is time to address some serious problems with the U.S. military. With the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan having uncertain horizons and the potential need for an effective and deadly military for future conflicts always present, the United States cannot afford to have a military force that is not as close as possible to the top of its game. Chronic issues can no longer be permitted to fester under the surface, as they are simply doing too much damage to the force and undermining the military's ability to accomplish the missions set before it.

I am referring to how the military handles women. As the volunteer force as evolved since its inception, women have played a more and more important role in America's military. The U.S. military long since passed the point where it could operate without women, in fact, which is one of the reasons so many more women are ending up with combat experience, as well as the nature of the Iraq war. This importance has not been accompanied with a cultural shift in the military, however, and this is the problem.

Many male soldiers are decent, upright, honorable men who treat their female comrades with the respect they merit as soldiers. That still leaves plenty of male soldiers who treat women improperly, ranging from relatively mild failings like making the occasional inappropriate remark up to sustained sexual harrassment and in extreme cases, rape and sexual assault. These problems are exacerbated by predominantly male commanders who often simply don't recognize the severity of them or who are sexist themselves and therefore dismiss the complaints of female soldiers. The end result is a military culture that can be exceptionally unwelcoming to women, a result which often drives qualified women out of the service, something the military cannot afford at a time when it needs the best available people filling its ranks.

There will always be some friction between male and female soldiers. The military brings together young people who are often single, puts them into stressful situations, and acts surprised when sex enters the picture. It then exacerbates the problem by laying down one-size-fits all rules and doing very little to educate its leadership about the problems they are likely to face and the right ways to deal with them.

While I won't pretend to know how to solve all of these problems, I think the one thing the military needs to do beyond anything else is to start taking the issue seriously by holding commanders' feet to the fire. This should involve two avenues. First, leader education should involve training in dealing with the problems mixed-sex units are likely to face and how to deal with them, with particular emphasis given to helping men understand just what female soldiers are dealing with. The military tends to be a place where you are expected to deal with problems on your own if at all possible, which often leads to female soldiers keeping their problems to themselves or not being treated seriously if they do raise a stink because there is a perception of weakness. Add to that the fact men just aren't well equipped to comprehend the world women live in and some detailed education would go some distance in helping commanders to nip sexual harrassment problems in the bud.

That won't be enough, because too many senior personnel came up in the old school, where women aren't supposed to be in the military unless they're tough enough to take it as it is. That attitude discourages women from reporting problems, and encourages men who should know better that they can get away with inappropriate activities. Solving the problem is going to require a cultural change that needs to start with commanders making it clear that female soldiers will be treated as soldiers, and making it stick.

Doing this won't be easy. It will require the input of the female leadership at all levels to make sure that the education given to commanders and soldiers alike covers the proper topics. Male soldiers need to understand what is inappropriate and why while still understanding that female soldiers are no less tough than the men. Male soldiers should be able to avoid sexually harrassing females without getting the idea in their heads that female soldiers are therefore somehow less capable. It will be a difficult road that will require significant changes in thinking at all levels, and adjustments will have to be made as the culture shifts. But it is absolutely necessary if the military is to become what America needs it to be. No organization can be world-class if it systematically excludes half of the available population, and while military leaders know this in their heads, until their actions match their words, the U.S. military will not be all it can be.